Free Associations

Matt, Chris, and Don decide whether school kids in Uganda can be taught to evaluate the validity of health claims (hey, isn’t that our job?), take their best shot at conveying their strategies for determining who study results generalize to and Chris finds the answers in rubbing his bald spot. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Matt, Chris, and Don put down their Halloween candy long enough to debate whether H1N1 flu vaccine can cause spontaneous abortions in pregnant women, attempt to discern whether or not it is ok to divide up your data (going on fishing expeditions?) and Matt explains why he didn’t make it all the way through The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Matt, Chris and Don figure out whether or not artificial sweeteners are good or bad for your weight, pontificate on whether conflicts of interest change how we judge the results of a study, and Don and Matt have surprisingly similar feelings about what shall only be called “baloney” so that we don’t get a PG-13 rating. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss a new study that suggests increasing pollution regulation standards in the US could save lives, debate whether or not medical researchers should make policy recommendations, and Chris answers the question that has puzzled philosophers for centuries: is it safer to ride in blue or yellow taxis? Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss the paper that set off the MMR and autism controversy, dive deep into the peer review system. Chris and Don leave Matt scratching more than his head with their Amazing and Amusing contributions. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Matt, Chris, and Don dig into the latest study on whether alcohol is good for your heart, discuss what kinds of health studies the media likes to report on and review the harshest peer reviewer feedback we can find. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Matt, Chris, and Don review a new study suggesting chocolate may reduce your risk for atrial fibrillation, discuss the difference between observational studies and randomized controlled trials and ask, "is Usain Bolt fast enough to cause a Doppler shift?" Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Matt, Chris, and Don examine a report on how routines in childhood affect obesity, discuss their takes on how to critically read a journal article, debate the plural of platypus and the science behind the “asparagus smell”, and why neurotic cats need boxes. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.